Fraud in Accounting and Audit Research (1926 – 2019) – A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Corporate fraud scandals in recent years resulted in significant regulatory changes as well as growing interest in fraud-related accounting and audit research. However, the scientific landscape of fraud literature has become increasingly fragmented and little is known about the development and structure of this research field. Using bibliometric analysis to explore 260 fraud articles published in leading accounting and auditing journals between 1926 and 2019, our study provides a holistic perspective on the intellectual and conceptual structure of fraud research and illustrates its evolution and trends. We reveal key authors and publications, important collaboration networks, shifts in research methods, and citation and keyword linkages across the research field. Moreover, we identify and visualise major research clusters. We find that fraud research remained stagnant at a relatively low level in early decades but significantly gained in importance since major regulatory reforms. Our results reveal shifts of fraud research towards archival research methods, multi-authorships, and more specific research themes. Further, we show that the fragmented literature can be categorised into five main clusters, characterising different research streams. Based on the visualisation of fading and emerging research topics, we highlight current research gaps and suggest promising future research avenues.